Recent months have shown an increased interest from customs officials relating to the declared quantity of bunkers on board vessels calling at Turkish ports. If customs officials discovers a difference between the declared bunker quantity in the vessel’s tanks and the quantity calculated by customs officials, any excessive quantum will be confiscated and taken off the vessel for owners’ account. The authorities considers misdeclaration a criminal act and the vessel’s crew can potentially be accused of smuggling. This is a reminder that correct bunker figures shall be available at any ...

Members will be aware of the recent novel coronavirus outbreak in China, which has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). Although the following information is believed to be accurate at the time of writing, the situation is evolving rapidly and new measures are frequently being put into place. Members are advised to check with their agents and the local correspondents (contact details can be found on the club’s website) well in advance of any call to a country affected by the virus, particularly ports in ...

Members with ships trading in Turkey are advised of the recent increasing trend regarding sudden and unannounced inspections on ships by Turkish customs. In particular, a number of incidents have been reported where custom officials have boarded ships for the purpose of checking the ship’s actual fuel quantity against the one declared on arrival. A potential misdeclaration may be treated as an act of smuggling and could have criminal consequences. It is understood that it could lead to: • confiscation of the excess/undeclared fuel • investigation for smuggling against the ...

The West of England P&I Club has announced that it will acquire a significant stake in specialist marine insurance provider Nordic Marine Insurance (NMI). Founded in 2012 and based in Stockholm, NMI is a provider of specialist marine products for ship owners and charterers which includes fixed premium primary delay cover. The agreement, which is subject to regulatory approval in Sweden, will see West Group acquire Alandia’s shareholding in Nordic Marine Insurance. Alandia will remain an important partner of Nordic Marine Insurance. The new venture is expected to formally launch ...

We refer Members to previous circulars resting with ours dated 1 June 2015 on the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution from Ships and the requirement that Owners/Operators of (a) any ship carrying polluting and hazardous cargoes in bulk or (b) any other ship above 10,000 GT enter into a pollution clean-up contract with a Ship Pollution Response Organisation (SPRO) before the ship enters a PRC port or engages in loading, discharge or ship-to-ship transfers outside of the port but ...

At the latest mission briefing on COVID-19 the WHO Director-General remarked that this outbreak has the potential to cause severe political, social and economic upheaval. While the data from China appears to show a decline in new cases, he mentioned that “It’s far too early to make predictions about this outbreak.” The latest situation report confirms 2,006 deaths in China and 3 outside. We would like to thank Oasis P&I for providing us with an update on the situation in China with a circular issued by the China MSA which ...

Amid strong competition and challenging commercial conditions, pricing remains under pressure ahead of the February 20, 2020 deadline for ship-owners’ marine protection and indemnity (P&I) renewal. However, following three years when no increases were the norm, a large majority of P&I clubs have announced general increases for the 2020 renewal. This change in approach comes after most of them reported poor results for the year ending February 2019. AM Best notes in its new Best’s Market Segment Report, “Premium Increases as P&I Clubs React to Deteriorating Results”, that the level ...

Following the conclusion of the 2020 renewal, early projections suggest that North P&I Club increased its total entered tonnage to over 230 million gross tonnes, further strengthening its position as a leading member of the International Group of P&I Clubs. North, celebrating the 160th anniversary of its foundation in Newcastle upon Tyne, also saw owned P&I tonnage reach 160 million GT. Paul Jennings, North’s Chief Executive, said “Our 2020 renewal strategy focussed on the need to build the Club’s financial strength and stability in a climate of rising International Group ...

Members are reminded that for vessels not fitted with an exhaust gas cleaning system (i.e. “scrubber”) all remaining fuel oil on board exceeding the 0.5% sulfur limit must be removed before March 1, 2020. The provision does not apply to fuel oil that is being carried as cargo. Source: The American Club

The second annual report on cargo theft worldwide, issued today by leading international transport and logistics insurer, TT Club and global provider of supply chain intelligence, BSI confirms the overwhelming targeting of cargo trucks compared to all other modalities. The consistency of this trend year-on-year is also reflected in the 2019 data analysis of top commodities stolen; food and beverages representing 28% of all reported thefts in comparison with 19% in 2018. Other 2018 to 2019 results comparisons are presented on pages 5 and 6 of the report. Key points ...

In February 2019, Skuld published Manual handling: an ever-present risk to remind our members of the continued incidents in connection to musculoskeletal injuries. In addition, a simple assessment methodology to mitigate risk of such injuries was included. To further remind our member’s of the importance of maintaining good crew health and well-being and mitigating risk, the below is a case study of an incident report to the club. Event Two crew members were told by an officer to move a main engine spare from the engine room to the wet ...

The European Union (EU) Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR) comes into effect from the 31 December 2020. The new regulation aims to reduce the negative impact that ship recycling has on the environment and the health of workers. This is to be achieved through the prohibition and restriction of the installation of hazardous materials on ships, with existing hazardous materials being listed in a dedicated inventory. The regulation provides an approved list of ship recycling facilities that comply with stricter ship recycling requirements, which EU flagged vessels are to utilise when ...

This circular informs Members of the approval by the International Group of P&I Clubs (the Group) of CargoX. Members may recall, as reported in circular of 9 January 2020, that until February 2010 the Rules of all of the Group Clubs specifically excluded liabilities in respect of the carriage of cargo under all electronic, i.e. paperless, trading systems to the extent that the liabilities under such systems would not have arisen under a ‘normal’ paper system i.e. one using transferable paper documentation. From 20 February 2010 liabilities arising in respect ...

This infectious disease, first diagnosed in humans in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has spread to 25 countries to date. It represents a significant and acute global public health issue. The club advises members to remain vigilant and follow recommendations issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and national authorities in respect of this outbreak. The latest information from the WHO is that the number of confirmed cases has exceeded 50,000 with 1,665 deaths recorded as of 16 February. The number of cases is rising, although the rate has recently ...

At the annual winter meeting press conference held by the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), a host of the most pressing issues facing this sector were discussed and debated by several IUMI office holders who act as senior representatives of the global marine insurance and reinsurance market. At the event, Philip Graham, Facts & Figures committee chair, IUMI and Chaucer, highlighted how, at the beginning of the year, the general market was beginning to look quite positive from a shipping standpoint for a lot of marine and shipping clients. ...